Holder



Feb. 1, 1955 J. E. D'ONALDSON HOLDER Filed Dec. 21, 1949 m T m m M MES E. DONAL 050m United States Patent HOLDER James Edward Donaldson, Oak Park, Ill.

Application December 21, 1949, Serial No. 134,199

1 Claim. (Cl. 248-315) This invention relates in general to a pivoted holder having means for attaching it to a wall or other vertical supports and adapted to hold towels, clothes, lingerie, and other articles.

The invention comprises a decorative wall bracket made of plastic, light metal, or other suitable material which provides means for engaging and rotatably swiveling a ring holder of resilient material conforming to the supporting bracket and having ends which may be inserted within the holder, the inserted ends and the holder having cooperating engaging means for locking the ends of the ring holder into engagement with the bracket except at a predetermined position thereof where they may be disengaged.

An important object of the invention is to provide a holder of the class described in which a ring with separable ends has a locking engagement with a wall bracket such that the rotation or swiveling movement of the ring in the bracket will move the ring from a position where it may be disengaged from the holder to other positions in which it is locked in engagement with the bracket.

A further object of the invention is to provide a decorative holder in which a wall bracket is provided with means for removably swiveling a ring holder therein, the bracket having screw attaching openings covered by the ends of the ring when engaged by the bracket.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder having inner projections adapted to be engaged by removable ends of a ring holder, and the extremities of the ring holder having flattened portions by means of which the ring may be disengaged from the holder in adjusting one position thereof with respect to the bracket.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and will be apparent from the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective front view of a wall holder in the form of a towel rack in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the rear of the holder as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the interengaging means between the ends of the ring holder and the inside of the bracket;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one end of the ring holder;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the bracket as shown in Fig. 3 with the ring holder removed; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail as taken on the line 6--6 of Fig. 3.

In a decorative and utility holder of this kind, it is desirable not only to provide a bracket which may be firmly attached to a well or other support, but also to attach a holder ring thereto in such a manner that the ring appears to be continuous and is ordinarily locked in engagement with the bracket, but may be engaged and disengaged therefrom in at least one particular position so that the ends of the ring may be sprung out of and into engagement with locking projections inside of the bracket and then turned upon the ends of the ring as a pivot for moving it out of the disengaging position.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a bracket 10 is preferably formed of plastic in some decorative form having a base 12 which is flatly applied to a wall or some other plain support with an outwardly extending decorative portion 14 in the form of a shell as shown, or some other suitable design. At the op- "ice posite sides of the projecting portion 14 are holes 16 of a size to closely receive therein extremities 18 of a holder ring 20.

Inside of the projection 14 and projecting partially into the path of the ends 18 are parallel projections 22, one opposite each opening 16. Adjacent the extremity of each end 18 of the ring is a groove 24 of a width to receive one of the projections 22 therein, thus forming a head 26 at the extremity of each end 18, one side of which has a flattened portion 28 extending to the bottom of the groove 24. This flattened portion is so located upon the head that when the ring is rotated upon the ends 18 to a right angle outward position with respect to the holder, the flattened portion 28 is adjacent and will pass by its corresponding projection 22. As shown, the flattened portions 28 on the two ends are parallel to each other, but if desired, the flattened portions on the opposite ends may be located at a different angle so that only one end may be disengaged from the holder at one position of the ring, the other end of the ring being rotated to another position before it can be disengaged from its projection 22 and moved outwardly from the bracket.

Extending through the base 12 of the bracket opposite the opening 16, and covered by the ends 18 when they are in place within the bracket are opposite holes 30 for receiving nails, screws or other fastening devices by means of which the holder may be attached to a suitable support. Inside of the holder, are bosses 32 surrounding the holes 30 and reinforcing the bracket for its attachment to a support. The base 12 is also commonly formed with a marginal rim forming an inner recessed portion 34 which is adapted to receive and hold plastic fastening means which adheres in the recess of the base and also adheres to a surface to which the bracket is attached thereby. Thus the bracket is fastened in place either by adhesive or mechanical fastening means, and after the bracket is suitably attached, the ends of the ring are sprung outwardly and inserted through the hole 16. The ring is then rotated upon its swiveling ends 18 until such a position as the flattened portions 28 are opposite the projections 22 whereupon the resiliency of the ring material will cause the heads 26 to spring inwardly and the extremities of the ring will then be engaged in the grooves 24.

To remove the ring, it is necessary only to rotate it upon its swiveling ends to a position in which one of the flattened portions 28 is opposite its projection 22 and to pull the head outwardly over the projection springing it out of the holes 16. If both flattened projections are at the same angle, the other end 18 may be disengaged in a similar manner without further swiveling movement of the ring, but if the other end has its flattened portions at a different angle, then the ring must be rotated till its flattened portion registers with its projection 22.

While a preferred construction has been thus described in some detail, it should be regarded by way of example and illustration rather than as a limitation or restriction of the invention as various changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

In a holder of the class described, a bracket for attachment to a wall having a base with a recess at the underside to be placed against the wall and a hollow portion extending outwardly from the base and with an extending portion which fits flatly with the base against a plain surface, a split holder ring of resilient material having adjacent extremities adapted to be sprung apart for inserting them oppositely through the perforations and within the said hollow portion of the bracket so that the ring is detachable from the bracket by springing the extremities apart when the latter is secured to a wall, the ring being swiveled in the bracket upon the ends inserted in the opposite perforations, and the ring adapted to swing upwardly and downwardly relative to the bracket and projecting outwardly beyond the said hollow portion extending outwardly from the base, and locking means comprising projections inside of the recess portion of the bracket, extending partially within the path of the extremities of the holder ring when inserted oppositely through the perforations, and a groove forming a head at the extremity of each end of the ring, each head having a flattened portion to register with its corresponding projection in the bracket, the flattened portion being located to pass by its projection when the ring is in a predetermined rotated position relative to the bracket for inserting or removing the said extremity of the ring, and the groove seating the said projection 10 of the bracket for engaging the corresponding extremity of the mug within the bracket for rotating the ring upwardly and downwardly relative to the inserted ex- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 86,759 Jones Feb. 9, 1869 577,243 Fittz Feb. 16, 1897 1,401,073 Hall Dec. 20, 1921 1,509,570 Sykes Sept. 23, 1924 2,190,268 Magio Feb. 13, 1940 2,288,303

Ryan et a1. June 30, 1942 

